Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Evolution

"Ready yourself, as today, we'll be training your control until you become a proper supernatural!"

Grace then rolled her sleeves as she positioned herself in a stance. She then looked at Caspian as she smiled bitterly. "This is going to hurt quite a bit, Caspian. I'll make it less harsh than before but still, clench your teeth. Dodge or block my attacks if you can. If you can counterattack, that would be better. "

As she said that, her eyes became somewhat red as she rushed at Caspian. Caspian took a deep breath, but he couldn't even finish that breath as Grace started beating him like absolute shit.

He was thrown all over like a ragdoll. Caspian couldn't help but think, 'Fuck…! Didn't she say she was gonna be less harsh!?'

Caspian did his absolute best to dodge the incoming attacks. Unlike when Grace told him to track her, Caspian actually managed to see the incoming attacks. Though the speed of the eyes is not the same as the speed of the body, so regardless of whether his perception improved or not, he was still unable to dodge.

He gritted his teeth as he felt his bones slowly breaking along with some dislocation. His sight started to become blurry as he almost fell unconscious, but as Grace hit him, he was instantly woken up.

Just then, as If breaking a barrier, Caspian started to predict the attacks and actually managed to dodge some of them. Grace was surprised as she thought, 'Sean was right. Caspian is a hand-to-hand combat prodigy.'

She then smiled as she decided to step it up a bit. But even if it was only a slight power increase, Caspian was absolutely overwhelmed as his reaction speed gave out.

A few minutes had passed, and Caspian was on the ground, looking as if he had been mauled by a bear. He could barely make out the shape of things as his sight was completely blurry.

But this time, he was still slightly conscious. Grace then said, "Try to hold yourself back."

Grace grabbed a bag of blood and fed it to Caspian. As Caspian started swallowing the blood that was being poured into his mouth, his irises started to glow red, and with every second, the glow got brighter.

His eyes started to get bloodshot as the veins in his hands started popping out.

The cloudiness in Caspian's eyes started to fade as he clasped his hands into the ground, creating a small crack. Caspian felt as if his body was being forcefully ripped apart.

He could hear a loud ringing in his ear as if he had tinnitus. But despite that, he could also hear the beating of his heart.

"It's starting! Stay calm, Caspian!" Grace said as she poured the last few drops of blood. Caspian felt as if his bones were breaking down and repeatedly healing while he got chopped up into fine pieces.

"All of your bones, muscles, veins, the whole structure of your body is currently rearranging itself. Once this pain is done, you'll be a fully-fledged supernatural," Grace said as she observed him.

Caspian was spasming as blood leaked everywhere. He was screaming, causing Grace to flinch. 'This is unbearable to watch… watching your son scream in agony…!'

Caspian's eyes were bloodshot as tears of blood poured. His mouth was wide open as his fangs elongated. It was just like the pain you feel after working out, but a hundred times worse as even your bones reset.

What made this worse for Caspian was the fact that he couldn't get knocked out during the process, as his body forced him to stay awake.

After a long, arduous half-hour, which felt like an eternity to Caspian, the restructuring of his body was finally done.

Caspian was wide awake and was breathing at a rapid pace. He felt as if he was floating as he gazed at his mother; his previous hazel eyes completely turned bright red. Grace had a comforting smile on her face as she said, "Congratulations on becoming an actual supernatural."

Caspian didn't reply immediately; it was as if he was in a daze. But after a while, with a loud sigh, he said, "...Do all supernaturals have to get through this…?"

"Yes, but the pain is worse for human half-bloods of any race since their body isn't structured to be supernatural. A pure supernatural's body is already structured to fit a supernatural, so all they would feel is their muscles breaking down and some other bits."

"Well, get up. It's time for you to get actual training," Grace extended her hand.

"Shit, can't I rest for a bit…?" Caspian said as he grabbed Grace's hand and pulled him up to stand.

Before anything else happened, Caspian started stretching his body. He felt incredibly light, and he felt more force coming out of his movement. He then started to clench his hand just to get a sense of how much power he could exert.

"Now that you're a supernatural, you should be able to use your abilities instinctively," Grace wasted no time as she lunged at Caspian.

Caspian wasn't expecting an immediate attack, but he noticed that Grace's movement was slower than before. He easily dodged the attack and managed to put some distance between them. He started to look around, and soon he realized that it wasn't that Grace was going at a slower pace, but his perception had gotten so fast to the point that everything looked slightly slower.

However, Grace hadn't stopped attacking and immediately hit Caspian's face. She then exclaimed, "Do not get distracted while fighting!"

Caspian clenched his teeth as he forced his body to move. Unlike before, he could move his body in pair with his perception, so he easily dodged a multitude of attacks. For the attacks that were too fast, he blocked, but his forearms felt like it was hit by a battering ram.

Albeit already becoming a supernatural, Caspian could only dodge the attacks. He was still trying to find the perfect opportunity to counterattack, but Grace didn't give him any openings. All he could do was try and distance himself and initiate the attack rather than try to counter Grace's attacks.

Noticing this, Grace immediately propelled herself with a stomp to close in on Caspian. She then grabbed Caspian's collar and elbow while moving forward as she was relatively short compared to Caspian, who was 6'3. She then pulled her arms towards each other, pulling Caspian's body while she swept Caspian's feet with a kick, immediately knocking him down.

Grace was about to stomp on Caspian, and Caspian immediately took this attack to his advantage. He then grabbed onto Grace's leg and pulled himself up while punching Grace's shin, causing her face to twist slightly.

It didn't knock Grace down because there was minuscule force since he was lying on the ground. But he did manage to push her back. He then took the chance to stand up while lunging himself to Grace.

Grace then grinned as she kicked upwards, hitting Caspian's jaw and making him fall. He felt incredibly nauseous and was in shambles due to the attack. Just as that happened, Caspian clenched his hands onto the ground as veins popped from them. While gritting his teeth, he launched himself like a rabid animal at Grace.

He then swung his arms while swiping his claw-like hands. Grace frowned as she thought, 'He's unconscious. He's doing this instinctively.'

She then smiled as she decided to humor this crazed Caspian. Caspian started to attack Grace with all his might and speed, but she just dodged every attack like it was nothing. She then countered most of the attacks, hitting Caspian's gut and making him winded.

However, despite that, Caspian still kept going, but this time, despite being unconscious, he was using combat techniques and some martial arts. This greatly surprised Grace as she kicked Caspian with a fast snap on the head, knocking him down.

Grace thought he was unconscious, but somehow, his aura started climbing as he stood while wiping the blood dripping from his mouth. As Grace saw this, she couldn't help but say, "What the fu—"

Suddenly, Caspian attacked at incredible speed, and since Grace wasn't expecting an attack, she was caught off guard, but she did manage to block the attack. Grace was pushed back slightly as Caspian started to attack more.

Grace then furrowed her brows as she grabbed one of Caspian's arms and threw him to the ground. She then immediately followed it up with a kick, but Caspian somehow dodged it.

She then gave no more opportunities as she punched Caspian's jaw once more with immense force while hacking at the back of his neck, instantly rendering him unconscious. Grace then patted herself clean as she said, "Phew, that was a good workout."

She then picked him up from the ground and carried him over her shoulder. She then got out of the training room, picked up her phone, and called Abby. Abby immediately picked up as she called and said, [Hello?]

"Abby, come get Caspian. He's unconscious right now."

[I'll be right there], Abby replied as the call soon ended.

Then, Grace laid Caspian onto the chair within the armory and looked at his face. She then smiled bitterly while saying, "You're all grown up now… I've really gotten old, huh."

She then walked up to the mirror and looked at herself. Grace couldn't help but sigh with exasperation while saying, "Long lives… Immortality… they're all a curse."

She then observed her face, and she saw a tiny trace of wrinkles. She then grabbed one of the blood bags within her coat and punctured it with her fangs. Just as she drank the blood, the wrinkles on her face immediately disappeared as longevity radiated from her.

Soon, Abby arrived, and Grace smiled at her. Abby glanced at Caspian, and she couldn't help but giggle while saying, "You didn't go overboard again, didn't you, captain?"

Grace laughed while replying, "No, definitely not. Caspian was in an unconscious state while fighting me."

"But for some reason, his aura started to get stronger," Grace frowned as she said that. Only silence was heard for a few seconds, but Grace ended that silence as she said, "Bring him to his room. I still have some work to do."

Abby nodded as Grace left the armory. She then picked up Caspian while glancing slightly at his face. After a while, her face flushed while smiling as she remembered her confession to Caspian. It was such an awful confession, yet it somehow worked.

After a while, they arrived at Caspian's quarters. She then laid him on the bed and was bout to walk out of the room. Suddenly she felt imminent danger, so with bloodlust, Abby turned around with great force and swiped her hand.

Suddenly, her hand was grabbed and pulled. Almost having no time to react, Abby somehow managed to block another incoming attack. Suddenly, she had a thought, 'Wait..! Could it be!?"

She then looked at the figure who attacked her, and as she saw his face, she couldn't help but exclaim.

"Caspian!?"